Not The Typical Gift
by MP119
Summary: Hermione is tired of the usual Christmas gifts.


**Author's Note: **Wow, I must be on a roll. Another plot bunny that I couldn't let go of. Inspired by the passage from OotP below.

_On their way downstairs they met Hermione. "Thanks for the book, Harry!" she said happily. "I've been wanting that _New Theory of Numerology_ for ages! And that perfume is really unusual, Ron."_

--**Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix**, **pg. 503, American hardcover**

**-------------**-----------

Books.

Hermione got heaps of them every year for Christmas. Books on every subject imaginable from Muggle romances to obscure Wizarding texts. Usually she anticipated Christmas for all the new books she would be able to get her hands on.

Not this year though. Hermione punched her pillow bad-temperedly. She was most definitely _not_ looking forward to Christmas morning. She would wager her right arm that Ron had gotten her another book. Another book with thousands of pages on some wizard who had died two hundred and fifty six years ago. If she were to be fair though, she did give Ron dumb gifts as well. This year, for example, she'd resisted the strong urge to get him a lovely scarf and gloves that matched his eyes perfectly. She'd gotten him a homework planner instead. The scarf and gloves seemed like something a girlfriend would buy her boyfriend. And as much she fervently wished it was so, she was not Ron's girlfriend.

She quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Ginny, and entered the bathroom. She turned to the mirror hanging on the wall and gave herself a critical look.

Was it that hard for Ron to see she was a girl? Maybe she didn't go flouncing around in pink sparkles all the time but honestly. She was a _female._

So maybe her hair was a boring brown and full of bushy curls and knots. It did have a nice shine to it. And the sun brought out subtle highlights during the summer. Besides, it looked pretty nice when she actually managed to tame it.

And, fine, her eyes were an ordinary brown and not a stunning green or blue. But her eyelashes were quite thick and curled nicely. Her eyebrows did have a nice shape to them.

Her smile was nice too now that she'd let Madam Pomfrey fix it. And thanks to her dentist parents, her teeth were spectacularly white.

Hermione let lose a growl of frustration as she scrutinized her reflection. What exactly was the problem?

She glanced down at her pajama-clad body. Oh. That was it.

_Breasts_ was not quite the word for the golf ball-sized bumps sitting on her chest. Her arms were extremely thin and looked a bit scrawny. She had no hips to speak of.

"No wonder he doesn't see you as a girl," she told her reflection.

"Nonsense, dear. You're quite pretty, you know," said the mirror sleepily.

Hermione ignored it and headed back into the bedroom.

She tried to feign deafness in the morning when Ginny squealed, "Happy Christmas, Hermione!" and threw a pillow at her. "Come on, have a present."

Hermione grumbled to herself as she sat up and looked at the pile of gifts at the foot of the bed. Most of them looked suspiciously like books.

Fifteen minutes later, her bed was covered in discarded wrapping paper. Indeed, her parents had given her several books. Harry had given her a book on Numerology as well. Viktor had sent her chocolates as well as a book on Bulgaria. There was a box of assorted fruit tarts from Mrs. Weasley and a striped scarf from Ginny. And yet, no sight of Ron's gift.

She reached for the last package which was messily wrapped in red paper. She recognized Ron's untidy handwriting at once and quickly tore it open.

And stared.

There stood a small squat rose-colored glass bottle. Of perfume.

_Perfume._

Hermione gingerly picked it up and watched the sunlight dance on the glass.

He'd gotten her perfume.

Grinning foolishly, she spritzed perfume on her wrist and sniffed. It smelled distinctly of cherries with a hint of peppermint. She would have definitely never picked it out for herself.

Ginny paused in the middle of unwrapping a gift to sniff the air. "What is that smell? Is that peppermint?" She looked as though she was ready to gag.

Hermione looked at the bottle fondly. "I think it smells wonderful."

-**fin**


End file.
